01/14/2009
https://www.congress.gov...
"I think we're in agreement that we don't want a rerun of 2015 in 2016."
". . . as of last week, the units we have on the ground throughout the country report that of the 407 district centers, 8 (or 2 percent) are under insurgent control."
"So, do you think that we would be prepared, by the end of 2016, to go down to 5,500, giving the requirements for both counterterrorism and train-advise-and-assist?"
"We are not containing China. We are looking for a rules-based order, and here is how it might look in terms of our relations with allies and other partners."